October 11 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 11 *

1864 – Slavery is abolished in Maryland.

1865 – Jamaican national hero, Paul Bogle leads a successful
protest march to the Morant Bay Courthouse. Poverty and
injustice in Jamaican society and lack of public
confidence in the central authority had urged Paul Bogle
to lead the march. A violent confrontation with official
forces will follow the march, resulting in the death of
nearly 500 people. Many others will be flogged and
punished before order is restored. Paul Bogle will be
captured and hanged on October 24, 1865. His forceful
demonstration will pave the way for the establishment of
just practices in the courts and bring about a change in
official attitude, making possible the social and economic
betterment of the Jamaican people.

1882 – Robert Nathaniel Dett, is born in Ontario, Canada. He will
become an acclaimed concert pianist, composer, arranger,
and choral conductor. He will receive his musical
education at the Oliver Willis Halstead Conservatory in
Lockport, NY, Oberlin College (BM, 1908, composition and
piano), and the Eastman School of Music (MM, 1938). He
will become President of the National Association of Negro
Musicians from 1924-1926. His teaching tenures will
include Lane College in Tennessee, Lincoln Institute in
Missouri, Bennett College in North Carolina, and Hampton
Institute in Virginia. It will be at Hampton Institute
that he develops the choral ensembles which will receive
international acclaim and recognition. He will join the
ancestors on October 2, 1943, in Battle Creek, Michigan,
after succumbing to congestive heart failure.

1887 – A. Miles registers a patent on an elevator.

1919 – Arthur “Art” Blakey is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Blakey, a jazz drummer credited as one of the creators of
bebop, will be best known as the founder of the Jazz
Messengers. The band will become a proving ground for some
of the best modern jazz musicians, including Horace Silver,
Hank Mobely, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins,
Wynton Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis. He will join the
ancestors on October 16, 1990.

1939 – Coleman Hawkins records his famous “Body and Soul” in New
York City.

1939 – The NAACP organizes the Education and Legal Defense Fund.

1972 – A major prison uprising occurs at the Washington, DC jail.

1976 – The United Nations Day of Solidarity with South Africa is
declared by the membership of the United Nations. A
special day of solidarity is observed with the numerous
political prisoners who are being held in South Africa.

1980 – Billie Thomas joins the ancestors after a heart attack in
Los Angeles, California at the age of 49. He was an actor,
most notable as the third child to portray Buckwheat in
the Our Gang comedies, a role he played in some 80
episodes of the popular film series.

1985 – President Reagan bans the importation of South African gold
coins known as Krugerrands.